JUPITER, Fl (Baseball StL) – The St. Louis Cardinals announced Tuesday they will place third baseman David Freese on the 15-day disabled list.

The move will be retroactively dated to March 23. Freese, who is recovering from lower back pain, appeared in 12 spring games, batting .267 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.

The Cardinals also announced they have optioned left-handed pitcher Sam Freeman to the Memphis (AAA) roster and recalled infielder Ryan Jackson from the Memphis roster.

Jackson was optioned off the Major League roster on March 17. He had appeared in 17 Grapefruit League games prior to that move. Freeman made two spring appearances, the most recent on Sunday.

Tuesday’s roster moves reduce the number of players on the Major League spring roster to 31. The team announced earlier this spring that pitcher Chris Carpenter and shortstop Rafael Furcal had been placed on the disabled list.